Employment and Social Development Canada (EDSC) has announced an immediate moratorium on the food services sector’s access to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
“We have repeatedly warned employers that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program must only be used as a last and limited resort when Canadians are not available,” Minister of Employment and Social Development Jason Kenney said in a statement released Thursday night.
In recent weeks, ESDC has been made aware of some serious allegations of abuse of the program. And he said “there remain serious concerns regarding the use of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in the food services sector.”
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is deeply concerned that a moratorium on restaurants’ ability to access the program will push some small businesses to the brink, and is calling on the federal government to end the moratorium quickly.
“For a government that has been very supportive of Canada’s small business community, this decision is a slap in the face to entrepreneurs in the food services sector,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. “A public conviction of an entire industry is deeply unfair to the thousands of restaurant operators who use the program appropriately and follow all of the rules.”
The moratorium came just a few hours after a C.D. Howe Institute report said it was time to make changes to the program.
The report said a well-functioning program allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers (TFWs) only if there is no available resident, for a short period of time, and if the conditions of employment don’t undermine the rebalancing of the labour market.
However, “between 2002 and 2012, Canada eased the hiring conditions of TFWs several times, supposedly because of a reported labour shortage in some occupations, especially in Western Canada,” said author Dominique M. Gross. “By 2012, the number of employed TFWs was 338,000, up from 101,000 in 2002. These policy changes occurred even though there was little empirical evidence of labour shortages.”
ESDC will not process any new or pending labour market opinion (LMO) applications related to the food services sector. In addition, any unfilled positions tied to a previously approved LMO will be suspended.
“Abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program will not be tolerated. Allegations of misuse will continue to be investigated, and any employer found to have violated the rules will face serious consequences,” Kenney said. “Those employers that are found to have lied about their efforts to hire Canadians could face potential criminal prosecution with sanctions that include fines and jail time.”
The moratorium will remain in effect until the completion of the ongoing review of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
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